Brannigan - Ein Mann aus Stahl

John Wayne plays the titular character in the 1975 cop film "Brannigan" and this film, unfortunately, is not one of the Duke's best. Now I do not detest "Brannigan". I do not hate it, I just don't think it's very good and it's not worth more than two or three views. John Wayne made a lot of great movies in his epic career--he made a lot of masterpieces and gave some incredible performances--but this movie does not rank with them. And Wayne himself said that he wasn't particularly fond of it either.

Brannigan is an American police officer who is sent overseas to London to bring back a fugitive from justice who fled the country. He arrives to discover that the fugitive, played by John Vernon, has been kidnapped and held for ransom. Brannigan and the London police force, led by Commander Swan (Richard Attenborough) must try to save him and dodge assassination attempts made by the enemy.

This is a fine plot in a film that just doesn't quite work. "Brannigan" has slow pacing, not much in the action category, and it's quite clear that it's trying desperately to top off with the classic action cop movies like "Dirty Harry" (1971) even down to the music score, which resembles Lalo Schifrin's score from the mentioned Clint Eastwood film. It has its moments, but not nearly enough to make it recommendable. It's not a depressing movie, but not an exhilarating one either. Wayne gives his usual good performance, but even an icon like him can't save the movie.

If you are a die-hard John Wayne fan, then you must naturally see "Brannigan" so that you can say you've seen all of your favorite actor's movies. If you're not, then you might as well skip it over, for it's really not that interesting to watch. See other, better Wayne movies such as "The Searchers" (1956), "True Grit" (1969), "El Dorado" (1966)", and "In Harm's Way" (1965).

After a spate of tired westerns, and unmemorable cop programmers like McQ, John Wayne was in need of something a little fresh. Brannigan doesn't have much in its plot that we haven't seen before, but it is freshened up by its unusual London setting. Nicely directed by Douglas Hickox, and complemented by lots of good supporting performances, it is also entertaining in patches.

Chicago cop, and all-round hard man Jim Brannigan (John Wayne) is ordered to fly out to London, England, to bring back bail-skipping gangster Ben Larkin (John Vernon). But just as Brannigan arrives, Larkin is abducted by a bunch of British crooks who plan to hold him for a hefty ransom. Aided by stiff-lipped Scotland Yard detective Charles Swann (Richard Attenborough), Brannigan attempts to track down the kidnappers so that he can get hold of his man.

Wayne looks pretty old for this kind of energetic action stuff, but he has a certain rugged charisma that allows him to more-or-less get away with it. The supporting cast is generally very good - Attenborough registers well as the Scotland Yard detective; Judy Geeson looks lovely and has a good role as the lady assigned to look after Brannigan during his stay; Vernon adds another unpleasant bad guy to his villains' gallery; and little-known Daniel Pilon has the best scenes in the film as a genuinely evil hit-man assigned to erase Brannigan. The music, scored by Dominic Frontiere, is hilariously '70s and is poured over the action with little consideration. There are also some unnecessary comic moments, such as the needlessly farcical bar-room brawl sequence which is out of tune with the rest of the film (Maltin, preposterously, called the bar-room brawl the high spot of the film but if anything it's the low point). At its worst, Brannigan stoops pretty low, but these low moments are gladly quite sporadic. For most of the way, it's an entertaining - if never truly excellent - star vehicle, and a genuinely "different" role for The Duke.

Tough Chicago cop Brannigan (John Wayne) goes to London to extradite an American criminal named Larkin (John Vernon) but the bad guy is seemingly kidnapped before Brannigan can get to him. That's not enough to deter our hero, though. He's determined to get his man, no matter how many British toes he has to step on to do so, including those of a stuffy police commander (Richard Attenborough).

A fun 'fish out of water' movie for John Wayne; his second attempt to duplicate Clint Eastwood's success at moving from westerns to police thrillers. It's a better movie than Wayne's previous attempt at a Dirty Harry-style cop flick the year before, the underwhelming McQ. It moves quicker and there are some funny lines here and there. Plus everyone in the cast seems like they want to make this work, unlike McQ where nobody seemed that into it. Duke is clearly having a good time and appears more at ease with this mostly British cast than he did with many of his later films. Vets Attenborough, Vernon, and Mel Ferrer deliver as they usually do. Judy Geeson has a nice chemistry with Duke. Thankfully (given their age difference) the film never goes "there" beyond mild flirting. Lesley Anne Down plays a prostitute and Daniel Pilon is the hit man hired to kill Duke. It's not an exceptional film in any way but it is enjoyable, especially for Wayne fans who might like to see him in different surroundings than the western plateau or the battlefield.

JOHN WAYNE fans have nothing to complain about. This may not be one of his top films, but it's a piece of slick entertainment with a good script and some clever lines and situations.

He may have been sixty-eight when he did BRANNIGAN, but he was still convincing enough as a "kick butt" cop transplanted rather suddenly to ye olde London and coping with some shrewd and cunning kidnappers demanding a great deal of ransom money. In addition, he has to cope with RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH as the police chief who doesn't like Wayne's Yankee ways.

It's a tale that gets off to a brisk start and never stops feeling like a spin off from a "Dirty Harry" movie starring Clint Eastwood. In fact, given Wayne's age, Clint probably would have been a more suitable, age appropriate choice for the leading role here--but Wayne still had enough energy and spirit to play the part in his usual style.

JOHN VERNON and DANIEL PILON make an interesting pair of villains, as does MEL FERRER as a crooked lawyer who's in on the kidnapping scheme. All of them get their comeuppance in a script that has quite a few surprises and plot twists along the way. JUDY GEESON has a nice rapport with Wayne as the woman assigned to drive him around the city.

Nicely photographed with good shots of the busy London area, it's not one of Wayne's best films but it's a very satisfying one with a good plot and a fair amount of action. The London pub brawl did seem to be a bit overdone but the director obviously played it for laughs.

Summing up: Never a dull moment.

'Brannigan' is a fairly routine thriller which doubles up as an advertising feature for American tourists wishing to visit London. In both cases, it does the job pretty well. What gives it a boost is the strong supporting cast headed by leading British 'luvvie', Richard "Dickie" Attenborough and the good use of London locations including Tower Bridge which is utilised in an above average car chase. Also there is a large-scale brawl in a city pub ( in Leadenhall Market) which is a direct transfer from a saloon of one of the Duke's innumerable westerns.

Tough Chicago cop, Jim Brannigan, is sent to London to extradite notorious American gangster, Ben Larkin, but before he can collect him, Larkin is kidnapped and Brannigan spends the rest of his time chasing around London in search of his quarry. Whilst struggling to adapt to the British way of life and the restrained style of policing, he employs techniques not usually seen outside Chicago. In the meantime, a contract has been put out on Brannigan's life by Larkin to prevent him from being extradited.

Though menouvring his way around London like a big vintage Cadillac, John Wayne lends his unique blend of charm and charisma and inevitably, he is given most of the best lines in what is a lively screenplay. For instance, there is nothing he likes better than to smash down villains' front doors and bellow defiantly: "Knock! Knock!". This is vintage John Wayne and there is no harm in this as he was very good at what he did and as a consequence he has a devoted following of movie fans around the world.

Richard Attenborough gives sterling support as the (on the surface)stuffy, upper-class Metroplitan Police Commander not afraid to get his hands dirty . Though with characters as different as chalk and cheese on and off the screen, there is clearly a good rapport between Wayne and Attenborough. There is continual conflict on screen about Brannigans retention and use of his handgun. One of the best moments is when an increasingly hysterical Attenborough demands: "I've asked you politely, now I'm asking you impolitely, HAND OVER THE GUN!"

Of the rest of the cast, pretty Judy Geeson is good decoration though underused. Her main purpose appears to be to ferry Brannigan around London and to scream "Look out, Jim!" everytime the contract killer draws close. John Vernon as Larkin demonstrates why he was the 'heavy' of choice throughout the 1970's and Mel Ferrer is suitably slimy as his lawyer. James Booth, Brian Glover and Don Henderson are all good as London thugs. Tony Robinson has a small comedic role as an innocent dupe of a dispatch rider thrown into the Thames by Brannigan long before he became Baldric in the long-running British tv series of Blackadder. Look out too for an appearance by Tony Blair's father-in-law, Tony Booth, as a small time con given the 'good cop-bad cop' treatment.

Humorous, though a little bloody, 'Brannigan' is good entertainment and if you are a fan of the Duke, it is well worth adding the DVD to your collection. My only gripe is that the movie was the inpsiration behind the god-awful 1980's tv seires, 'Dempsey and Makepeace'. Forget this and you will enjoy it.